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Calvin Vu
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San Jose, CA, USA
Jan 1970 time: 05:17
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These were the kinds of things which made people feel good over their "accomplishments" in Civ II, or, at least, these were the common sources for braggings:
- have a superscience city which can crank out X golds per science per turn and get a research for every Y turns.
- have their own cities as the top 5 cities just by building and developing them, not by destroying other civs' competing cities.
- have a big sprawling civilization and a huge score
of XXXXXX.
- get to AC in year NNNN.
- beat the AI with OCC.
- develop a trading strategy to help their civ.
(almost like figuring out that bringing silk and Ming
china from China to Europe and mechanical trinkets
like watches in the opposite route would bring
huge profit).
- get a huge number of wonders.
etc., from one city to hundreds of cities, from a gold/trade-based strategy to a shield-based strategy.
So, what makes a Civ III lover absolutely thrilled ?
Beat the AI civs ? (Isn't that possible with any other
games ?). The AI is more challenging (because nobody could reasonably expand and therefore the lone and crippled human civ can't beat the AI civs easily when they gang up, even though the AI civs are similarly crippled) ? Feel more cultured because there is a culture rating? Nicer graphics ? The polluters get a heavier punishment by having to move 20+ workers to clean up a polluted spot ?
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Calvin Vu
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San Jose, CA, USA
Jan 1970 time: 05:17
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Now I see why I can't find a reason to enjoy the game:
- I don't enjoy beating the AI civs if it's no fun. It's a game, after all. I crushed the AI civs at Monarch and won the space race around 1700 but it's still no fun since I don't have the feeling that the result went 100% according to my plan, not 75% according to the game designer plan and luck.
- I can't hoard luxuries very well (by creating scores of one-shield-one-gold cities in all continents ?). Anyway, even when I get most of the luxuries, the AI civ would demand 3 luxuries and 50 gold/turn from me for their one luxury anyway.
- I don't want to work harder in playing the game. After alll, my wife has already complained that I AM lazy in playing the game in the first place instead of doing something more useful. Spending too much time moving workers in a computer game is not characterized as "hard-working" according to her book.
I do like looking at the demographic screen and I agree that the mini-wonders add extra nooks-and-crannies to the game to explore. However, the game just seems too sadistic in design to me. It just seems to gauze how much pain and annoyance I could endure to get to the end of the game and I suppose I fail the test since I'm only looing for fun.
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Arrian
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Kneel before Grog!
Jul 2001 time: 00:17
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For me, the thrill is having a truly dominant civ. Not "domination victory" necessarily, but a civ that fits my criteria for domination. This means local access to at least 6 of the 8 luxuries, the #1 ranking on the demographics for all the important stuff (pop, land area, productivity, etc.), a solid tech lead on the opposition, and darn near all the wonders of the world. Then I feel like I've built something.
Basically, I take pride in games where I could chose any victory condition (perhaps excluding the UN one, because I hate it) and do it. I like knowing that my massive army of modern armor could take over the world (if I had the patience to rack up the 66% of the land area), but instead chosing to build the spaceship.
-Arrian
p.s. I like doing this without a total slash and burn strategy, so I have yet to advance beyond Monarch level.
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